New Orleans Underground Soul: Josh Wingerter

December 16, 2013

Apps and Tech devices are awesome, and we could literally talk about that stuff for weeks, but let’s put them aside for a while and catch a flight to New Orleans, Louisiana.

I had the chance to spend a couple of days there, couch-surfing during the Mardi Gras (that sh*#t’s nuts!) hosted by Lionel (the Child) Lombard. Besides getting buzzed, eating crawfish and hitting on both locals and foreigners, Lio introduced me to Josh Wingerter. Honestly, I don’t know much about him, but give the guy a paint brush and he’ll do some really, really cool stuff!

minimalist art

Today I’m going to spend a few words on Josh, introducing you to some of his works that, by the way, you should definitely keep in mind if thinking about bringing some underground style into your flats.

I’ve asked Lio to describe Josh in a few words, and according to him “He is a painter who may best be described as a graffiti artist on canvas.” This 27 years old guy got his passion for painting from the strong desire to express himself through his work, bottled-up emotions and blowing them up with paint brush and paint on any and all surfaces.

Good Vibes

His paintings owe a lot to NOLA’s underground soul and it’s Jazz beating heart; works on abandoned buildings, brick walls, and found objects in New Orleans, has been constantly feeding his inspiration and made him the artist he is today; it won’t take more than a minute spent breathing in the air from the Mississippi river to understand what I’m talking about.

Most of the pictures featured in this article come from his latest series,Familiar Faces. The collection encompasses bold colors of vibrant tones that resonates an urban, fresh, industrial, funky feel.

Dorothy from Wizard of Oz

It screams music, humor, upbeatness and (as said) color! Familiar Faces is really getting a lot of buzz: the Tresor gallery in New Orleans is currently showing his work, as well as the Liss gallery in Toronto, Canada. And many tourists visit New Orleans coveted Frenchmen Street Art Market, where Josh sells his pieces on the weekend…and how they are buying them up. No wonder why: how good would one of those pieces look on that brick wall, right next to that old desk!

Next steps? Josh, is currently in talks with galleries in South America, with the hopes to take a step into where art was first invented (yeah, right, Art is our business!): Europe!

neon artwork

Now that you know him, I’m pretty sure you’re going to Google him, looking for more; if more is not enough we’ll soon come up with an interview and some tips on how to decorate your place with this really cool works.

Most important: if 100 people share the article I may even get a free paint!. 🙂